What others say: Safe skies

Don't allow 'irritants' on flights

We cannot support the softening of security measures for passengers boarding U.S. flights that go into effect April 25.

Passengers will be able to carry on small knives, souvenir and wiffle-ball bats, two golf clubs, hockey and lacrosse sticks and ski poles.

Many of these items pose a threat to passenger safety. They can be used as weapons and could result in serious injury. And a wiffle-ball bat? You seldom see these plastic bats making their way through airports.

The flight attendants union has a right to be upset over the softening of security laws. Controlling an angry passenger who has had too much to drink and decides to play through business class with a golf club is a dangerous situation. A small knife is still a weapon and could kill someone. This year at Southwest Florida International, 1,322 knives with blades less than three inches have been "intercepted," while what officials classify as "irritants," like alcohol or hairspray, lead the confiscation list with 3,391.

But the bigger picture appears to be letting our guard down when it comes to national security. Yes, these items that will now be allowed stand little chance of breaking down a cockpit door and getting to the pilots to take control of the plane.

But any of the items - except the wiffle-ball bat - threaten the security of any flight. We should not be compromising safety standards.

The federal government says that removing certain items from the banned list will allow it to concentrate more on bigger risks, like potential terrorist attacks. We believe the government should be able to keep its focus on the bigger security picture but also to maintain the same security levels currently in place.

It will take only one major incident of violence after the new security rules go into effect to change them back to the current system. So why change it? Anyone working in the airline industry has a right to be concerned about the changes. Their jobs will become more difficult on April 25 as they adjust to the new measures.

Because of the new rules, we also encourage the aviation industry to implement more training for those dealing with passengers, should one of them decide to start swinging away.

This also appears to be an over-reaction to the anticipated federal cuts resulting from sequestration, in which thousands of federal workers may lose their jobs.